AN ASIAN MP has urged UK prime minister Boris Johnson to offer continuous support to India amid their battle against the coronavirus crisis.
Navendu Mishra, Labour MP for Stockport, made the call as India continues to struggle with a shortage of hospital beds, tests, medicines and oxygen. The country has confirmed a record high of cases in recent weeks.
Although Mishra welcomed Britain’s efforts to send medical equipment to India on Tuesday (27), Mishra said more help was needed.
His recommendations included the UK providing immediate support for oxygen, genome sequencing, crisis management and in tackling vaccine hoarding;dedicated consular support for British nationals in India; and help lifting the ban on raw materials required for vaccines and other life-saving equipment.
In a letter to Johnson, he outlined the severity of the current situation.
“The reality is we will need to provide significant and sustained levels of support to help India’s government contain and overcome this crisis,” Mishra wrote on Monday (26).
“As the secretary of the India All Party Parliamentary Group and being of Indian heritage myself, I am deeply concerned about the situation, which appears to be rapidly spiralling out of control.”
Sara Sharif’s father Urfan Sharif and his partner Beinash Batool (Image credit: Surrey Police)